Articles

HR Consultants Benefit Growing Businesses

One of the functional areas often neglected by small and medium-sized businesses is human resources. The reasoning is easy enough to understand. When a company is in its early stages, focused on establishing itself and carving out a niche in a highly competitive business environment, production, operational and front line staffing tend to take priority over “back office” functions like human resources. Unfortunately, this strategy is shortsighted and can cripple the company for a number of reasons. For example, when a company is growing and pursuing larger opportunities, that’s when the need is greatest to find and hire highly qualified staff. Without an HR team in place, recruitment is difficult. Even worse, the lack of HR resources can lead to existing staff becoming disgruntled and leaving for greener pastures, which can be extremely damaging to productivity and morale. As companies grow, procedural issues such as labor law compliance, Workersâ€™ Compensation administration, benefits programs, employee training and payroll all become more demanding.

Many owners of smaller businesses that are growing feel caught in a trap. They can’t afford to create a human resources department like the big companies have, nor can they afford to focus on HR issues themselves for fear of losing growth momentum at a time when hands-on leadership is needed for operations. The solution that many successful businesses have employed is to hire an HR consulting firm to evaluate the business and undertake critical services.

Choosing to outsource HR services has the advantage of providing experienced human resources support without the disruption, distraction and expense of implementing an onsite HR department. Full service HR and PEO (professional employer organization) firms offer temporary and ongoing staffing for open positions, as well as the expertise to implement critical processes. For example, they can create job descriptions, an exercise that benefits existing employees while providing staffing guidance to management. Doing so not only provides an inducement for employees to remain by clarifying their roles and responsibilities; it also helps management to identify any understaffed areas or inappropriately compensated employees. HR consultants also provide recruiting services, including expert interviewing, background screening and salary negotiations.

To prevent a successful and growing company from becoming entangled in regulatory red tape, HR consulting firms are also able to review existing policies and practices and recommend any changes needed to ensure full compliance with labor and safety laws. An HR consultant can take over, streamline and improve processes such as payroll and employee time and attendance tracking. They can also contribute significantly to employee morale by providing training and development, support in selection and administration of benefits programs and creation of employee handbooks. In short, a human resources consulting firm immediately provides all the services of a full in-house HR team without the ongoing expense or start-up time.

If you have questions or would like more information about the topics discussed in this article, please contact our HR Department by clicking here. Please be sure to reference the title of the article in your inquiry.

This article was sponsored by National PEO, LLC. National PEO is a leading provider of PEO services to hundreds of companies all over the US. Let us handle the burden of Payroll Services, Benefits Administration, Worker’s Comp, and Human Resources for your company. Contact us today to request a quote!